A Blank Stare is Not an Answer

[Moosenogger]

I went to the Mart of Wal on Thanksgiving to buy a few items (little things that I had of course run out of on Thanksgiving Dx). I pulled into a parking spot and snagged a cart that someone had left nearby. When I looked inside the cart, though, I saw that a woman had left her wallet in it. I took a quick peek inside the wallet to make sure it wasn't an old one that someone had meant to trash, and indeed it had money and credit cards inside.

I took the cart and wallet into the store and went directly to customer service. I quickly went up front and asked the cashier for a manager. She called a supervisor for me, but after waiting about 10 minutes no one had shown up so I went searching for a manager on my own. I found an employee near the registers whose uniform looked slightly different from the others (I figured she might be a manager), so I waited for her to finish her conversation with another customer. When she was done, I proceeded to ask for a manager.

Me: Hi, is there a manager I could talk to?
Her: Yes.

*Awkward silence as we stare at each other*

Me: Are you a manager?
Her: Yes.

Well, thanks for clearing that up.

I then told her the situation and her attitude immediately changed and she became pleasant. She said she'd put the wallet in lost and found.

I'm not sure why some employees/managers think the awkward silence and blank stare qualifies as an answer. Unless you're wearing a giant sign that says "I AM A MANAGER", then it's not a stretch of the imagination that I might need some clarification.

And yes, I got all of the items I needed.

[blas]

Not retail related, but my bf is notorious for his blank stares and his infamous shoulder shrug answers.

It's one of the few things about him that I absolutely cannot stand. A person can be introverted or even downright shy, but most people grow out of awkward looks and shoulder shrugging at about age, what, 8??

We've been out to eat, the server comes to take our orders, and has looked at him and he has literally shrugged in return. Finally, he'll say what he wants.

I asked him no less than 5 times if he wanted to spend Thanksgiving at my parents' house. My mom was pressuring me to get an answer in a timely manner so she could have enough food prepared. He kept fucking SHRUGGING every time I'd ask him.

After a few suggestions, I finally went about it the wrong (but only) way and finally said "I don't understand shoulder-shrug speak, dear," and he hung his head low and didn't speak to me for nearly a day after that. Oh well, at least most of the shrugging has stopped. From now on, if I don't get a direct answer from him, I'm taking it as a no, every time, until he learns to use his big boy voice and say so.

[dragon_wings]

I sometimes will give a customer a blank stare but only when the customer has a question and I'm waiting for them to ask it.

[Moosenogger]

I sometimes will give a customer a blank stare but only when the customer has a question and I'm waiting for them to ask it.

That's totally understandable, but I guess this woman expected me to take a blank stare as an affirmative answer. Honestly, it made me feel a bit stupid, like I should have somehow guessed she was a manager just by her demeanor. (I very rarely ask for or speak to a store manager, so it's already awkward enough without throwing in blank stares and long moments of silence.)

[blas]

I understand people giving blank stares when they are astounded or stupified by something someone has said and done, but in this case, it was just being rude.

[bhskittykatt]

She was probably afraid you were going to complain about something.

Reminds me of when I was updating a phone list for Boss Man. He didn't have the names of all the managers, so I was calling around.

I called a property across the state:

GM: *spiel*
Me: "Yeah, I was just calling to ask the name of your manager?"
GM: *annoyed sigh* "Why do you need to know." *said as more of as statement, in a dead voice*
Me: "Oh, this is bhskittykatt from [our property] and I'm just updating Boss Man's phone list."
GM: "Oh!" *changes to pleasant tone and happily gives me her name.*

[greek_jester]

She was probably afraid you were going to complain about something.

Sounds a bit like one time I visited a local supermarket. I'd had to ask a few employees about things (I'd visited the butchers section & was trying a new cut of meat, so I asked for advice on how to cook it), & I happened to pass the assistant manager on the way out (he was wearing a badge with his title on).

I stopped as I went past & said "do you mind if I make a few observations about your employees?" & a brief look of terror crossed his face. When I said something along the lines that every time I'd been in the staff had always been friendly & helpful & that they were a credit to the store, he looked completely shell-shocked & stuttered out a rather dazed "thank you!" He then admitted that he wasn't used to people stopping to give compliments.

[Shalom]

Had a similar reaction once; I was at a catered affair in a synagogue in our city, and one of the dishes was unusually excellent for this kind of thing. I tracked down the guy in the apron and asked him if he was the caterer; he got this real worried look on his face and said, Yes I am, how can I help you. I said I just wanted to tell him his chulent was dynamite, the best I'd ever had at a synagogue. It was funny how his face just lighted up.

[mariamousie1]

I'm guessing people had been bitching to her all day so she was reluctant to announce her title lest she be bitched at more. Not that that's an excuse for rudeness, but nobody's perfect, I guess.

[ShadowTiger]

Blank stare is initiated when customer hands me keys and says absolutely nothing else.

Would enjoy the luxury of attaining permission to craft specific quantity of keys please.


Otherwise, you get one. One.

[Ironclad Alibi]

Blank stare is initiated when customer hands me keys and says absolutely nothing else.

Would enjoy the luxury of attaining permission to craft specific quantity of keys please.

Otherwise, you get one. One.

Do you also get to choose which key is copied?

[ShadowTiger]

Oddly enough, I've never had that problem. O.o I'm actually very shocked. ... Because, y'know .. .. keyring ..

[sms001]

Hate to say this Moosenogger, as I know most of us are probably honest good people, and so are the employees at that Walmart, but I think I would have run down the wallet owner myself. The temptation for someone to empty it and just claim "It got turned in that way." is there. And I don't know if most stores are proactive about lost and found anyway - they might not try calling her. And she might not remember every store she was in that she might have lost it and call them. Just a thought.